Why and when did italy join world war 1?
Italy had been allied with the German and Austro-Hungarian Empires since 1882 as part of the Triple Alliance. Italy, however, had its own designs on Austrian territory in Trentino, Istria and Dalmatia. Rome had a secret 1902 pact with France, effectively nullifying its alliance At the start of hostilities, Italy refused to commit troops, arguing that the Triple Alliance was defensive in nature, while Austria-Hungary was the aggressor. The Austro-Hungarian government began negotiations to secure Italian neutrality. It offered the French colony of Tunisia in return. Italy, however, joined the Entente in April 1915 and declared war on Austria-Hungary in May. Fifteen months later, it declared war on Germany.
World War I, also known as the Great War and “The War To End All Wars,” was a global military conflict which took place primarily in Europe between 1914 and 1918. More than nine million soldiers and civilians died. The conflict had a decisive impact on the history of the 20th century. The Allied Powers, led by France, Russia, the United Kingdom, and, from 1917, the United States, defeated the Central Powers, led by Austria-Hungary, Germany and the Ottoman Empire. Italy joined the Allies in 1915. The fighting that took place along the Western Front occurred along a system of trenches and fortifications separated by an area known as no man’s land. These series of fortifications ran from the North Sea to Switzerland. This system of static trench warfare defined the war for many. On the Eastern Front, the vast eastern plains and limited rail network prevented a trench warfare stalemate. But the scale of the conflict was just as large. The Middle East and the Italian Front saw heavy fightin
In the years that led up to World War One, Italy had sided with Germany and Austria-Hungary in the Triple Alliance. In theory, Italy should have joined in the sides of these two nations when war broke out in August 1914. She did not. Italy’s experience in World War One was disastrous and ended with the insult of her ‘reward’ at the Versailles Settlement in 1919. What Italy did was wait and see how the war progressed. On April 26th 1915, she came into the war on the side of the Triple Entente – Britain, France and Russia. In 1915, Italy had signed the secret Treaty of London. In this treaty Britain had offered Italy large sections of territory in the Adriatic Sea region – Tyrol, Dalmatia and Istria. Such an offer was too tempting for Italy to refuse. Britain and France wanted Italy to join in on their side so that a new front could open up t the south of the Western Front. The plan was to split still further the Central Powers so that its power on the Western and Eastern Fronts was weak
